Dr. Tai-Lan Tuan is a member of the faculty at Department of Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California and the Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Tuan received her postdoctoral training in the area of Cell-ECM interactions from Dr. Fred Grinnell at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The in vitro three dimensional fibrin matrix model of fibroplasia for wound healing was established in the early stage of her independent research career. Using the model system and in collaboration closely with her clinical and other colleagues, the molecular phenotype of keloid fibroblasts to include plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) was discovered with evidence supporting the role PAI-1 in collagen accumulation (Am J. Pathol., 173(5):1311-25, 2008). Extending from the experience and established work, Dr. Tuan has taken a focused effort in the past several years to generate a clinically relevant and deliverable keloid-derived, plasma/fibrin-based skin equivalent animal model of keloid fibrosis that bridges the major gap of keloid translational research (Wound Repair Regen., 24(2):302-16, 2016). The model epitomizes the injury-repair environment in triggering and fostering keloid formation and the dynamic epidermal/dermal interactions which occur during disease development. The biological continuity of keloid genesis in the model system provides an accessible platform to elucidate the disease mechanism and test knowledge-based therapies. Dr. Tuan’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services, USA.
